RE: The hassle of importing SPICE decks into MDS
I had a set of package simulation results (28 TQFP?) that I
wanted to put into MDS. No way would I want to try to cut
and paste or drag all those components around after MDS got
done splattering them all over the place. It was easy enough
just to come up with a "common block" that I repeated multiple
times and entered in the values. Less mistakes that way than by
accidentally loosing a connection, or creating a new one, or
making multiple copies of a section! I can't imagine it getting
any better with larger model files, or much easier with smaller
ones.
If everything isn't easily doable in common blocks, maybe
importing it that way would be easier, but I kinda doubt it.
I'd say "state of the art" is still doing it by hand (ugh).
But then again, diff'rnt strokes, etc...
-- --------------------------------------------------------------- Mark Randol, RF Measurements Engineer | Motorola SPS, Inc. (602)413-8052 Voice | M/S EL379 (602)413-4150 FAX | 2100 E. Elliot Road [email protected] | Tempe, AZ 85284 ---------------------------------------------------------------Ray Anderson wrote:
> > Hello: > > I have a strange request. This comes from getting vendors who have > > difficulty in or are unable in providing schematics of their sometimes > > very complex buffer models. > > Does anyone know if there is a tool out there that can generate a > > schematic (transistors, transmission lines etc) from a SPICE file? > > > > thanks, > > Lisa > > > > The HP MDS (microwave design system) has an option that will > allow you to read in a spice deck and it will produce a > schematic representation. > > Be aware that while the schematic will be correct from a > a connectivity (netlist) standpoint, it will be, shall we say, > aesthetically a mess. The parts are slapped down on the screen > in some arbritrary order and then they are connected with a > ratsnest generated from the netlist info from the spice deck. > > In order to make the schematic into something that you can look > at and easily understand you need to spend a bit of time moving > the parts around to a more conventional topology. Fortunately the > wires rubberband so you don't lose the proper connectivity when > you rearrange things. > > The MDS package is pretty pricey, especially if you don't have > other uses for it other than doing the spice to schematic generation. > (Fortunately, we do use it for lots of other things). > > There may be other software that may accomplish the same thing, > but when I looked around for such a package a few years ago, the only > other thing that I found at the time that was even close in functionality > was somebodies thesis project that really didn't work all that well. > > Ray Anderson > Sun Microsystems Inc.